


Growing Pains

by JamieB93



Series: Blood Feud [12]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), BAMF May Parker (Spider-Man), Harley Keener & Peter Parker Friendship, Harley Keener & Peter Parker are Siblings, Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Harley Keener is a Good Bro, Harry Osborn & Peter Parker are Siblings, Harry Osborn Needs a Hug, Hurt Peter Parker, Johnny Storm is a Good Bro, Johnny is so nice guys I love him so much, Kid Harley Keener, Kid Harry Osborn, Kid Peter Parker, M/M, Norman Osborn Being a Jerk, Norman Osborn's A+ parenting, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Break, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Peter Parker is a Good Bro, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Peter Parker is a Mess, Pre-Spider Bite Peter Parker, Protective Harley Keener, Protective Harry Osborn, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Sweetheart Johnny Storm, Teenage Peter Parker/Teenage Johnny Storm, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Underage Drinking, Worried May Parker (Spider-Man)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:00:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27213811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamieB93/pseuds/JamieB93
Summary: On the night of Harry's sweet sixteen, Peter turns up at home bloodied and bruised after getting into a fight on the subway. Tony Stark is panicking, May despairs, Harley and Harry are mad and Johnny Storm proves himself to be more understanding than Peter could have ever anticipated. Who'd have known?
Relationships: Harley Keener & Harry Osborn, Harley Keener & Harry Osborn & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Tony Stark, Harry Osborn & Johnny Storm, Harry Osborn & May Parker (Spider-Man), Harry Osborn & May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Harry Osborn & Peter Parker, May Parker & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Johnny Storm, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker/Johnny Storm
Series: Blood Feud [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709539
Comments: 26
Kudos: 108





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyy, I'm back!
> 
> Sorry I was away for so long, work has been kicking my ass!
> 
> Please enjoy!

**Blood Feud**  
 **Book 2** : Descent  
 **Part I** _: Growing Pains._

**Saturday, 16th July 2011, Osborne Manor, Long Island, New York.**

Harry Osborne’s teen angst bullshit already had a body count. As the now handsome sixteen year old stepped out of the shower on the night of what was to be his sixteenth birthday party, he took a deep breath and shook the feelings of Steven Westcott away from his mind, determined to banish the demons that plagued his mind every moment of the day. If it wasn’t Westcott, lying dead by Harry’s own hands in his apartment, his mind was filled with images of his mother laying murdered with a bullet hole in her head by a river bank on the very grounds of the house he now stood in. 

Looking in a mirror, Harry wiped away some of the mist and saw the reflection staring back at him. Harry’s face had matured a lot in the last year, losing his last traces of puppy fat and developing sharp cheek bones that complimented the button nose he had inherited from his mother quite nicely. He’d always known he was attractive but it was only within the last year that Harry had begun to understand just what being attractive could mean for a famous teenager, the good and the bad. His virginity was gone. Lost to a senior from a private girls school that regularly mixed with Midtown several months before and the string of girlfriends hadn’t slowed down. 

He’d hit the gym as well. Harry was aware of how weedy and skinny both of his parents had been and knew that he would need to build up muscle to avoid looking like his father, whom strangers liked to tell him he bore a striking resemblance to regularly. He didn’t want that; he didn’t want to have anything to do with his father. The gym and the workouts with Ben had been slow to start really showing a difference but in the last few weeks, Harry had noticed the work had started to pay off and had plastered his private Facebook account with pictures that had unfortunately ended up leaking to the press. 

Exiting the bathroom, Harry smiled at Johnny Storm who was sat on the edge of Harry’s bed flicking through some of Harley’s old comics.

“Why are you reading those?” Harry asked as he made his way across to where he had left his outfit for the party on the back of a chair and began getting ready, “Johnny Storm reads comics. Surely something is up with the Universe?”

“Well if sir will take hours getting ready in the bathroom” Johnny replied with a smirk, “I had to find something to pre-occupy my active, brilliant mind with.”

“This coming from the boy who until last week was under the impression Mussolini was a pasta dish?” Harry smirked as he pulled on his underwear and started combing his hair in the mirror, “Has anyone arrived yet?”

“No” Johnny sighed as he picked himself off the bed, “Not that it would matter if they had, the world waits for Harry Osborne, remember?”

Harry scoffed. 

“You going with that shirt?” Johnny asked, eyebrows raised as Harry did up the buttons on the maroon shirt he and May had decided on that afternoon.

“Problem?” Harry replied, turning around from the mirror to face his best friend, “Don’t tell me, maroon is your colour as well, Storm?”

“Harry, my boy, every colour is my colour” Johnny said proudly as he approached Harry and turned him back around to face the mirror, “I’m just saying it’s a little formal for what’s essentially just going to be a gathering of teenagers too rich and horny to know good fashion sense.”

“All the more reason we should set an example, don’t cha think?” Harry smirked, “Or else the peasants may start getting ideas above their stations.”

“I suppose” Johnny replied with a shrug, “It is a nice shirt. Brings out your eyes. I’m sure Mary-Jane will be very taken with it.”

Harry rolled his eyes. Johnny had got some strange notion in his head of late that Harry and their other best friend Mary-Jane Watson were some kind of star crossed lovers, destined to be together for the rest of eternity. It wasn’t that Harry didn’t like Mary-Jane. He did, of course he did, she wouldn’t be his second best friend otherwise and she was undeniably beautiful but that didn’t equate to him having any kind of feelings for her. No, she was more like a sister or a really close cousin.

That’s all she was to him.

(She was absolutely more)

“Where is she anyway?” Harry asked as he checked his watch, “She promised she’d be here to help calm my nerves. I hope that waste of space father of hers didn’t let her down about driving all the way out here.”

“Piece of shit” Johnny muttered under his breath, “I’m sure she’ll get here, Har. It’s you. Mary-Jane Watson would move heaven and earth if it made you happy.”

“She’d do the same for anyone else” Harry shot back.

“But would she move them as fast?” Johnny replied with a wink as he gathered his own towel up and patted Harry on the back as he moved into the bathroom for his own shower. Harry rolled his eyes and smirked at his best friends ridiculousness before sitting down on the end of his bed and fishing out his sneakers for the night. 

He supposed he expected to feel somewhat different now. Being sixteen. It had been made out to mean so much in all the movies and TV shows, Harry assumed they were overexaggerated but he hadn’t expected to feel as…..normal as he still did. Wasn’t this meant to be the start of the rest of his life? The dawn of a new era, where he’d finally start to come out of his shell and start being the man he was destined to be? Maybe he’d been kidding himself on that score, Harry was pretty sure he’d sealed his own fate one way or another the second he’d pushed Steven Westcott so hard the man broke his neck.

There was no reset there. No fresh start. Harry was only sitting on the edge of his bed, an hour away from his sweet sixteen, due to the canny and fierce protection of Ben Parker. It wasn’t because he was different now or worthy of any of this. He was still a killer, still someone who would get what was coming to him in the end.

May spoke a lot about karma. Harry had to wonder how long it was until his cards were dealt.

*

May Parker wondered if she was doing the right thing as she decorated the living room of the Osborne manor house for Harry’s sixteenth birthday party. She knew the party was in many ways a right of passage and Harry had insisted on having one but May knew the boy like she knew the back of her own hand and she knew that Harry was not really in the correct emotional state to be handling large gatherings. He’d struggled through the second anniversary of their mother’s death only a few weeks before and his increasingly rebellious behaviour was starting to worry her. She really wished Ben hadn’t been called away to Washington by Norman the previous night, though part of her felt it was a deliberate callous act by the man, who hadn’t so much as sent his son a text wishing him Happy Birthday.

It wasn’t that Harry had turned into a bad kid or anything like that. He was still kind, polite and got all of his school work done on time, he rarely truanted and as far as May knew he wasn’t dabbling in anything he shouldn’t have been but May could feel the boy slipping away from her. He spent so much time lost in his own mind, he was becoming more and more detached from her by the week. Harry’s newest habit was sex. May knew this. She wasn’t an idiot. She’d found the used condom wrappers in his room, she’d noticed him sneaking out or back in late at night, and she felt guilty about it but she’d intercepted more than a few messages from girls Harry had hooked up with. She planned to confront him about it. She planned almost every day, but it never happened. 

She was scared, really. Felt in over her head. Whenever she thought of Harry, her default was still to think back to the cherub faced toddler who had adored his hugs and whose favourite Teletubby had been La-La. The thought of Harry becoming sexually active at all was hard to get her head around, but sexually active to the point where he was sneaking out of the house every other night to hook up with girls he barely knew was something else. And she knew she’d crossed a line reading his Facebook messages and if he found out she’d done that; he’d pull away more than he already was. 

Maybe it was best to leave this one to Ben, but she felt like she was always leaving the heavy lifting to Ben where Harry was concerned. Ben was the one who was able to get through to him best, whom he trusted and respected the most, the one Harry went to whenever his nightmares plagued him to the point of needing comfort. May knew the most sensible option was to have Ben confront Harry over his behaviour but a part of that made May feel like she was essentially admitting defeat. That she’d lost Harry. That she wasn’t good enough to be his guardian anymore. 

“So, will I do?” the teenagers voice rang out behind her. May stopped what she was doing, turned around and gave Harry a smile as he stood coyly behind her, hands behind his back as he stood in his maroon button down and black jeans. May still smiled when she saw him, he still made her beam with pride. 

But this was just something else that worried her. Harry hadn’t just grown into a good-looking young man, he’d grown into the kind of good-looks that made traffic stop in the street, the kind of good-looks that couldn’t help but attract attention. Both good and bad. And May knew the dangers of that, it had been much the same story with Mary, and Harry was aware of his looks and wasn’t afraid of using them to get what he wanted in a way that Mary had never been. Somewhere along the line, it would all lead to disaster. 

“Oh, you’ll do pumpkin” May said with a smile as she forced all of her worries and anxieties to the back of her mind, “Look at you. All grown up, and so handsome now. Your Mom would be so proud of you.”

“Thanks” Harry replied with a smile, “Are Harley and Peter not back yet?”

“On their way with Tony” May told him sweetly, “I still don’t really know if a sweet sixteen is the best place for them. Harley’s still young, and you know how much Peter hates crowds and loud noises.”

“We’re not exactly having a rager, May” Harry smirked, “Well…as long as someone keeps an eye on Johnny, and I’ll always keep an eye on Johnny.”

“You and me both, I saw him eyeing your father’s liquor cabinet” May smiled, “Is he in the shower?!

“Yeah, we can expect him down in approximately six to eight hours” Harry joked, “Fine by me, he can stop teasing me about Mary-Jane.”

May rolled her eyes. She wasn’t naïve. It wasn’t hard to see that Harry’s best friend had fallen head over heels in love with him and was desperately trying to deflect attention away from the fact by insisting that Harry and Mary-Jane were the ones interested in one another. The only catch was that it was plain as day that Mary-Jane had a crush on Harry as well which made May feel desperately sorry for poor Johnny. 

He was a lot like Peter in a way, he would take a million knocks and hide his pain if it meant keeping the people he cared about happy. 

“She coming tonight?” May asked casually, putting her worries out of her mind. 

“Yeah, she should nearly be here by now” Harry replied, “As long as her Dad still agreed to give her a lift. He’s a rat.”

“I’m sure she’ll find her way; we can always go and pick her up if needs be” May replied with a smile. She knew how important it was to make sure the boys had as many friendly faces around them as possible and if that meant she had to drive, or get Tony Stark to drive, to the middle of Queens to pick up Mary-Jane Watson then that’s what she would do. 

“May” Harry said quietly as he moved next to her, almost shyly, which was increasingly unlike him. 

“Yes, sweetie” she replied with a smile as he stood somewhat awkwardly in front of her.

“I just wanted to say thank you” he muttered, “For the past few years, putting up with us, putting up with me, especially. I know it’s not been easy…but I just wanted to….yeah, say thanks.”

May’s heart was in her mouth as Harry, for the first time in years, volunteered himself for a hug and took her in his arms. It was the first time in his life that it seemed more like Harry was holding May when he hugged her as opposed to the opposite way around. He was so big now, so strong, she sighed and planted a kiss on his cheek. 

“It’s been a pleasure” she told him, “Ben and I love you boys. And we will always, always be here for you.”

Harry smiled briefly before turning his attention, along with May, towards the front door which had just opened and Harley, Peter and Tony Stark all wondered in. May gasped and Harry grunted as they took site of Peter. A black eye, a bloody nose, a cut lip and tussled hair. 

“Oh honey, not again” May sighed.

“Yes, again” Tony Stark replied before Peter could, “Come on kiddo, let’s get you cleaned up.”

*

“Ouch!” Peter winced as May dabbed an anti-septic wipe on one of his cuts. They were sitting in the living room with May administering some first aid to Peter’s cuts and bruises whilst Tony Stark had a mini panic attack in the corner and Harley filled them all in on how Peter had come to get beaten up.

“You gotta stop this, Pete” Harry told him angrily, “The world’s problems are not yours to solve.”

“The girl was getting mugged, Harry” Peter shot back, “What was I meant to do? Just sit back and let it happen. I saved her purse.”

“Yeah, and got what looks to be a broken nose in the process” May replied heavily as she turned Peter’s face back and forth to inspect for further damage, “Honestly, sweetie, I’m proud of you for standing up for that girl but if it gets you hurt in the process…”

“Don’t care” Peter said with a shrug, “She’s still got her stuff and she didn’t get hurt so what does it matter?”

“It matters because you’re hurt” Stark, who had been uncharacteristically quiet since arriving back, suddenly snapped, “Pete, kid, you can’t just go around getting your ass beat for the sake of saving someone’s purse.”

“It’s not even that bad” Peter argued, “My nose probably isn’t broken and bruises heel quickly, and May’s wiped most of the blood away. I’m fine.”

Harley wanted to scream. Peter had been doing this so much lately. Throwing himself into trouble that didn’t concern him and getting hurt just so someone else wouldn’t be. Harley knew that what Peter was doing was a good thing and that he should be proud of his brother for being so heroic but when he had to sit and watch as some dude twice Peter’s age and easily triple his body size beat him up, it was hard to feel anything more than despair for whatever was going on in Peter’s head.

It had all started around a year ago, just after Richard Parker had been found dead after he escaped from court following his guilty verdict. Peter had reacted strangely. Instead of just trying to ignore it and move on like Harley had, or outright borderline tasteless celebration as Harry did, Peter just threw himself into helping out everyone around him more than he already had done. And he’d been doing that all his life anyway. But suddenly, it wasn’t just comforting Harley if he had a nightmare or talking Harry out of doing something stupid, Peter seemed to take on the world’s problems as his own.

At first, it had just been at school. Harley had started school and struggled to make friends at first due to some dicks in his grade deciding to pick on them. Peter always intervened and took them on. Harley had assumed this was just a protective big brother thing at first but then Peter’s sort-of-friend Michelle had told him, rather bluntly, that Peter had been doing it for pretty much everyone he had seen getting bullied. Then it escalated into standing up for random strangers in public. And now it had morphed into Peter taking beatings from grown-men on the subway for intervening in a mugging that probably would have been solved quickly anyway due to the fact the station was CCTV monitored and the guy mugging people hadn’t had so much as a cap on to cover his face.

“Hey, so, I finally got my hair to stay in place-“ Johnny Storm announced as he waltzed into the living room, unaware of what had just happened, “Honestly, Harry, we need to have a conversation about the hair product you-what the crap’s happened to Peter?!”

“He got beat up on the subway” Stark replied, “Trying to play the hero again”

“Oh” Johnny replied pointedly, turning on Peter, “You little nutjob, Pete. He could have seriously hurt you.”

“I’m fine” Peter insisted again.

“Maybe this time” Harry said darkly, “What if next time, you don’t get away with just some cuts and bruises? What if next time they really hurt you, what’re you gonna do then, tough guy?”

Peter opened his mouth to reply but May firmly opened her hand in front of him, their shared signal that it was time for one of the boys to stop talking, and duly closed it again with a scowl on his face. 

“Harry’s right, Peter” May said softly as she carried on wiping Peter’s face, “This is the third time this month this has happened, and I’ve lost count of how many times it’s happened before. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, if you see that kind of trouble happening alert the police.”

“You always taught me to stand up when people need me” Peter muttered back, “So did Mom.”

“Your mom wouldn’t have wanted to see you in this state, kiddo” Tony replied.

“What do you know?” Peter snapped suddenly, “You barely even knew her, don’t tell me what my Mom would or wouldn’t have wanted when you didn’t know her.”

“Peter-“ May began, shocked by his sudden outburst. Everyone else was as well. It was very rare Peter snapped at anyone, so it really came as a shock when he did. Harley noticed that Tony had gone ghost white. 

“No, I’m sick of it!” Peter carried on, “I’m doing good things and h-helping people l-like you all w-wanted me to and when I do it you all get mad!”

“Peter, no one’s mad that you tried to help” Harry snapped, “But we’re allowed to be mad when you come home beat to shit and don’t even seem to care. It’s great that you helped that lady but-“

“Oh, you don’t understand!” Peter yelled, leaping out of his seat, “If I don’t help people, then who else will? There was a whole carriage full of people and not one of them was willing to stand up for her!”

“Yeah, because they’re sensible enough to know getting involved will mean having their asses beat” Harry yelled back, “And you know what, they’re right!”

Peter’s hands curled into a fist and Harley could tell he was on the verge of losing his temper so was a little relieved when Peter merely grunted and took himself out of the room. Angry Peter was a rare thing, but he was utterly terrifying when he was mad. Harley was also concerned because even though Peter came off much worse in the fight, he’d actually held up against someone that much bigger than him a lot better than he really should have done. He was almost freakishly strong for his height and weight.

*

Peter was laid down on his bed, determined to hide his bruised and battered face in his pillow for the rest of the night. He felt bad that he’d lost his temper with Harry and Tony, especially on Harry’s own birthday, and was trying to work the nerve up to go downstairs and apologize to them both when he heard guests for Harry’s birthday party arriving and really did not feel like facing a party full of high-schoolers in the state he was in. He didn’t know where Harley was but he could guess that his little brother was probably mad at him too, any other night and Harley would have been right next to him hiding out from the party.

“Harls?” Peter said hopefully as he heard his bedroom door open behind him, only to be greeted by the smirking face of Johnny Storm instead. 

“Sorry, I’m not nearly handsome enough” Johnny smirked and Peter rolled his eyes at his big brother’s best friend as he turned to stuff his bruised face into the soft pillow once again, “I am sorry to disappoint but I did nominate myself to come and check on you.”

“Cos they all hate me” Peter’s reply was muffled by the pillow.

“Hating you is a physical and mental impossibility, Pete” Johnny said with a smile as he perched himself next to Peter on the bed, “I would seriously think about evaluating the mental state of anyone who could be around you for more than six seconds and decide you’re anything other than a little bitty sweetheart.”

“Don’t patronize me, Storm” Peter shot back, “I’m not in the mood.”

“Dude, I am not patronizing you” Johnny smirked, “Everything I just said is true. Anyway, no, I’m not here because everyone hates you. I’m here because I figured you might benefit from some space from your nearest and dearest at the moment. You all care about one another so much, it’s a bit….I dunno, messy…like, I’m far enough removed that you can talk to me without it being weird?”

Peter frowned. Weird is exactly how he would describe this situation. 

“Yeah, now I say it out loud it doesn’t really make much sense” Johnny sighed, “Look, all I’m saying is, I’m here if you want to talk and need to say anything you’d feel too embarrassed to say to Harry or May or Stark.”

“Thanks, but I’m good” Peter huffed, “I know I was being a dick earlier. What I said to Tony was really harsh.”

“Maybe” Johnny mused, “But it also wasn’t untrue. He didn’t know your Mom all that well. I know I wouldn’t like it if someone assumed what my Mom thought. Maybe it isn’t his place to preach to you what she would have wanted, even if he probably did get it right. And I agree. But then again, I barely knew her either, so….”

“I know he’s right” Peter sighed, “I think that’s why I got mad. She’d be ashamed of me.”

“No way” Johnny snapped, “She might be worried about you. Like May and Harry are worried about you, or like I am. But that doesn’t mean what you did was something to be ashamed of. It was stupid, but it was also very noble and brave. I think your Mom would like that you have those qualities.”

Peter smiled and finally turned to face Johnny, who beamed back at him and caused Peter to feel the usual butterflies in his stomach he always got when he was around the boy. He was still trying to figure out what that all meant. 

“There he is!” Johnny announced with a laugh, “There’s that handsome but slightly battered face. What a relief.”

“Shut up” Peter said, smiling despite himself as he curled his knees to his chest and rested his head on his arms with a sigh, “Why are you even up here anyway? Shouldn’t you be in the center of the party? Harry says you’re the most popular boy in school.”

“Oh, I am” Johnny replied with a smile and a shrug, “But Harry has enough clout on his own to give us about ten minutes before my absence is noted.”

Peter nodded. It felt nice that Johnny wanted to spend time with him. There probably weren’t many sixteen year old’s who would chose to spend time with their best friends dorky thirteen year old brother. 

“Thanks” Peter muttered, “I think I’ll be OK.”

“Good” Johnny said with a nod before taking a deep breath, “Look, I just wanna say this cos I need to – I know what you did wasn’t selfish and I get why you did it, but when it’s hurting the people you love the most, are you really doing the right thing?”

“Harry just-“

“I’m not talking about Harry” Johnny interjected quickly but softly, “He’s a tough cookie, in protective big brother mode, he knows the score. I’m talking about Harley. He’s just a kid, Pete, and he had to sit their and watch whilst you got your ass beat for no real reason. Think about what that must have been like for him. He’s only 11, Pete. He cried after you left the room.”

Peter paused. He hadn’t considered how everything may have affected Harley for a second, his little brother, his little brother who had had to watch him get beaten up by a dude so much bigger and stronger than either of them. He tried to think back to the incident and remember if Harley had even said or done anything throughout the entire thing but couldn’t even picture him there, even though Peter knew he definitely had been. If he hadn’t felt like a piece of shit before, he certainly did now. 

“Oh” he said sadly.

“I get it” Johnny sighed with a sad smile, “When my folks died, I was a wreck. A complete wreck and I did a lot of things that made Reed and Sue really scared because I didn’t care what happened to me anymore. I didn’t see how much I was hurting them until it was nearly too late.”

Peter nodded. He wanted to ask Johnny what he’d done when his parents died but he could feel it was not the time. 

“What you guys have been through sucks ass” Johnny carried on, “But Pete, if you’re gonna do the whole selfless hero thing, you gotta make sure it’s not gonna hurt the people who care about you the most.”

“Yeah, yeah, I will” Peter replied, “Do you….do you think that I need to go to like….therapy or something? Maybe I’m crazy or something?”

Johnny laughed.

“If you need to go, we all need to go” he replied, “Well, Sue thinks I should go so maybe you and her are on to something. I dunno. Talk to May if you think you should. Can’t hurt, can it?”

Peter smiled as Johnny patted him on the knee and sighed as he got off the bed and headed for the door. Peter felt a pang of sadness as he watched Johnny leave, though he had no desire to follow him downstairs to the party.

“Johnny” he called out before the older teenager opened the door, “Thanks, I don’t give a crap what people say about you, you’re really smart. Thanks.”

“No worries Petey” Johnny said earnestly, “You guys are like brothers to me. I’ll always be here if you need to talk things out.”

Peter nodded as Johnny left, trying desperately to pretend hearing Johnny call him a ‘brother’ didn’t make him feel slightly disappointed. 

*

After taking a shower and cleaning himself up a little bit more, Peter made his way to Harley’s bedroom where he found his little brother straining to listen to his DVD of Tangled over the sound of Harry’s now fairly hectic sounding sweet sixteenth below. Peter smiled as he watched Harley, scowling with his arms folded and a hoodie pulled all the way up, looking every bit the adorable little teddy bear that his older brothers liked to think he still was. Peter knew that was changing, and that Harley was growing up, but it was still nice to see, nonetheless. 

“Maybe you’d hear the movie better if you took your hood down?” Peter suggested from Harley’s doorway, “Unless you’re wanting to hear Flo Rida songs over Mandy Moore’s dulcet tones.”

“I hate parties” Harley grumbled from his bed.

“You’ve never been to a party, not a real one” Peter reminded him with a smile as he made his way over to Harley’s bed and sat down next to his little brother on it, “Then again, neither have I.”

“Too loud” Harley whined, “How’s your….entire face?”

“Feels better” Peter told him before sighing, “I owe you an apology, Harls. I shoulda never let you see all that. I’m sorry.”

Harley nodded.

“It’s OK, I get it” Harley replied, “Well, I don’t really but I know that all you wanted to do was help someone. I just wish you cared a little more about whether you got hurt or not.”

“I do care” Peter argued, “I guess I just cared more about….that ladies purse.”

Harley smirked. 

“You scared me” he said.

“I know” Peter sighed, “And I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”

“In front of me, or at all?” Harley asked.

The question made Peter think. Helping people like this was something he really needed to do, he couldn’t just sit back and let bad things happen to people, but he also didn’t want to cause his family anymore heartache by getting hurt all the time. As he looked at his little brother, Peter knew the right thing was to stop getting himself involved in dangerous situations all together. It wasn’t even as if Peter _wanted_ to get himself beaten up by strangers on the subway, what he really wanted to do was help people, and getting beaten up just seemed to be an unfortunate consequence of that. And maybe Harley would have to be exposed to that, but that didn’t mean he had to literally witness it.

“You matter you know” Harley yawned as he tucked himself into Peter’s side and took his hands in his own, evidently taking Peter’s silence as a confirmation that he would still be getting involved in situations like the one on the subway, “It’s OK to be saved sometimes, you know. You don’t always gotta be the hero.”

Harley yawned and snuggled into Peter’s side and managed to eventually fall asleep as Peter gently ran his fingers through the younger boys hair. Peter smiled when he realized Harley had dropped off and gently pulled the bed covers over them both and settled in for the night, even though it still kind of hurt to move.

It was just after midnight when Peter was suddenly woken up by the sound of drunken staggering and giggling in the room. Harry, naturally. 

“Don’t wake Harley dumb-dumb” Peter groaned as a smiling and unsteady Harry managed to find the bed and crawl under the covers next to his brother, “You’re drunk.”

“Yeah”

“Thought May locked the drinks cabinet”

“No stopping Johnny John-John man” Harry giggled, “He did me good.”

“I see” Peter replied, “And where is Johnny John-John Man?”

“Bathtub” Harry smirked, “He fell in and then he fell asleep. I know he’s not dead cos I pulled his hair to check and he hit me on the arm. Mean.”

“Very” Peter replied quietly.

“Found you” Harry said sweetly as he booped Peter’s nose, “Don’t like fighting wiff you, Petey, but gotta….I gotta, you gotta be safe, y’know?”

“I know” Peter sighed. 

“And I keeps you safe” Harry went on, rambling, “You little idiot, you silly boy, you’re so small and tiny you can’t fight big people. You like an ant.”

“May’s gonna be mad that you’re drunk” Peter told him, desperate to deflect. 

“Already is” Harry laughed, “She told me to go bed but I didn’t wanna go bed I wanted to find you and Harley and I find you and Harley cosh things are always best when we together. Never feels better than when we’re together. Need to be together. Need to be safe. I keep you safe, Petey, you no need to fight ugly men on trains. Me here.”

Peter smiled and rolled his eyes as Harry cast a protective arm over his chest and cuddled in closer, falling asleep quickly. 

He tried to get some sleep himself but it just wouldn’t come. Partly, it was due to the fact that Harry’s snoring soon filled up the room and Peter had to detach from his older brother and re-frame him on the bed so they’d abate before Harley woke up. Then, Harley had a bad dream and started kicking Peter’s shins in his sleep, only stopping when Peter rolled over and whispered reassuring affirmations of love and comfort in his little brother’s ears until the boy came to a stop once again.

By the time May Parker strode into the boys bedroom at eight the next morning and violently flung open the curtains, causing Harry to croak and fall off the bed in shock, Peter had not had a minute of sleep. That was three nights in a row now. 

“You’re mean” Harry whined from the floor.

“And you broke a promise not to get drunk” May snapped as Peter lent Harry a hand and pulled him up as Harley finally came too, “Clever, coming in here with your brothers. I can’t be as hard on you now, and the bucket of water has gone out the window.”

“Throw it over Johnny, he’s in the bath” Harry moaned.

“He managed to find his way to your bed in the end” May shot back, “And don’t worry, I’ve already called Reed and let’s just say, you wouldn’t wanna be Johnny in about forty-five minutes.”

“Don’t wanna be Johnny anyway” Harry muttered as he climbed back under the covers, “Too blonde. Too silly. Too dumb.”

“Too damn persuasive when it comes to you” May sighed, “Anyway, you boys need to be up soon, big day ahead. Ben just called from the airport. He’s back in town. We’re headed out for Lunch at 11.30.”

Peter frowned. That seemed early, and Ben wasn’t due back for another few days. 

“Dad’s with him, isn’t he?” he asked. 

May nodded.

“Yes, he is” May sighed as Harley and Harry both groaned, “And he wants to see you, so…take from that what you will. Probably just some PR because people know it’s Harry’s sixteenth birthday”

“May, I know I fu-messed up, but you can’t inflict my father on me when I have a hangover like this” Harry groaned as he curled into Peter’s side once again, “Can’t we just cancel? It’s not like we’re gonna gain anything from seeing him, is it?”

May smiled and affectionately tussled each of their hair. 

“Well, that’s a shame, because he’s brought Abbie with him” May said with a smile, which only grew bigger when she noticed Peter shoot up in enthusiasm. Abbie. She was here, in New York, with his Dad? He was going to see her, for the first time since Christmas. Harley and Harry both looked a lot more lighter and excited at hearing the news they were soon to be reunited with her. 

“Peter, you look you’re gonna cry” Harley said with a smirk as May kissed him on the cheek and told them they could have another hour in bed before leaving.

“Just excited I guess” Peter shrugged, trying to play down the fact that knowing he was going to see his sister again today made every little problem he had seem like the most irrelevant thing in the world by comparison. 

“Yeah, me too” Harley replied with a smile before getting up and heading to the bathroom, leaving Peter and Harry on their own.

“We good?” Harry asked once Harley was gone, “I don’t like us fighting, and I don’t really remember if we cleared the air.”

“We’re good” Peter told him, unable to suppress his smile, “We’re more than good, we always are. You and me.”

“Glad to hear it” Harry smiled before stretching his arms back across Peter’s chest, “And sorry I got drunk, I didn’t keep you up, did I? You did get some sleep, right?”

“Of course I did” Peter lied, he hadn’t gotten a wink but it didn’t seem to matter now, not when he was going to be seeing Abbie again in just under an hour if Ben and Norman were already on their way from the airport, “Like a log.”

Abbie. She was coming home. What did it mean? Did it mean Norman was going to let them see her more? Maybe he’d agreed to let her come and live with them again? Either way, just seeing her would be more than enough for Peter. 

Nothing else seemed to matter. _Nothing_. 

*


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why does he do it, Ben?” Peter asked, “Why is he always determined to hurt us? Why doesn’t he love us, what did we do wrong?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol sorry

**Blood Feud**

**Book 2:** Descent

**Part I:** Growing Pains

**Chapter 2**

Sunday, 17th July 2011, Osborne Manor, Long Island, New York.

Harry’s head was pounding. As he managed to tear himself out of Harley’s bed and back down to his own bedroom, he groaned as every step he made seemed to rock his head as if he was being pelted by hale stones. The news that their father was due imminently with their little sister in toe had sprung both Peter and Harley into action and the two younger boys were now enthusiastically getting themselves washed and ready for the day. All Harry wanted to do was lay with his head beneath his pillow in the dark and wallow in his own self-pity, and maybe punch Johnny Storm in the face for getting him drunk in the first place.

Johnny Storm who was, as always, looking completely immaculate and carefree when Harry slouched into his bedroom and flopped down onto his bed.

“Hey!” Johnny said brightly, “I was wondering where you got to.”

“Crashed with my brothers” Harry groaned, “Two people who love me and who didn’t betray me by plying me with copious amounts of alcohol.”

“It was hardly copious” Johnny smirked and rolled his eyes, “And besides, I don’t recall you exactly being reluctant to take it. In fact, you snatched the bottle from my hand at one point and tried to down it all in one.”

“Yeah, well, I was influenced” Harry shot back.

“Oh yes, by big bad Johnny, the bad role model” Johnny sang back at him, “Mrs. Parker’s read me the riot act this morning and no doubt Reed and then Sue and then probably Grimm are all going to give me the exact same lecture when I get home, so I don’t really need it from you either, all I cared about was you having a good time.”

“I’m not having a good time now” Harry croaked, “My head feels like shit, I _stink_ , I probably look like shit and here you are, fresh as a daisy and twice as pretty. It’s not fair. How did you win the genetic lottery so good?”

“Flattery will get you everywhere” Johnny smiled as he crashed down on the bed next to Harry and placed a comforting hand on his back, “Look, first off. This is like your first hangover ever; you get used to them. Secondly, yes, you stink but that can be washed away in a few seconds and lastly, you are just as pretty, if not prettier, than myself so stop wallowing in self-pity and get your shit together, Osborne. Everyone has too much to drink on their sweet sixteen. It’s as American as Apple Pie.”

“I’m not sure that’s true” Harry muttered back slowly, “God, I can barely remember anything. I didn’t do anything to embarrass myself, did I?”

“Yeah, I’m not the dude to ask that” Johnny scoffed, “But no…not that I remember, unless you call crying on Mary-Jane’s shoulder embarrassing, but I actually think it made you look soft and vulnerable and she’s really into all that men who share their feelings crap, so-“

Johnny shut up promptly as Harry hit him over the head with a pillow.

He’d drunkenly _cried_ on Mary-Jane’s shoulder at his own birthday party? Why was he only just finding out this crucial and humiliating information now?

“I, _what_?!” he barked.

“Oh, it’s not a big deal” Johnny replied, “You just got a bit weepy and kept telling us how you were drinking to forget. It’s no biggie. We all know you’ve gone through some shit, dude, I don’t think anyone’s gonna judge you for it.”

“But-but-but-Mary-Jane” Harry whined, “This is so humiliating, she probably thinks I’m a total headcase now.”

“Oh, calm down” Johnny sighed, “Mary-Jane thinks nothing but positive things about you. She even told me to make sure you got tucked into bed safe and sound-“

“Oh great, so now she thinks I’m a massive baby!” Harry exclaimed, “Perfect.”

“You know, for someone who ‘definitely doesn’t have a crush on her, Johnny’, you’re doing a lot of worrying about her opinion of you” Johnny pointed out and Harry scowled because it was true, “I really wouldn’t worry about it dude, I think she’s crazy-nuts for you too.”

Harry blushed a little, causing Johnny to smile more.

“You’re err, really for it then? When you get back?” Harry asked.

“Worth it” Johnny said with a shrug, “Like I said, I just wanted to make sure you had a good time and you did, so….what’s a few weeks shut away in my tower like Rapunzel?”

Harry smiled back at him and felt grateful he had a friend like Johnny. Johnny never seemed to want anything from Harry but for Harry to be happy and enjoying his life, Harry only wished that he could be like that for Johnny all the time, instead of the miserable and dower presence he was becoming most of the time.

“Thanks” he told Johnny honestly, “And sorry, it wasn’t fair of me to blame you for me getting drunk. You may have started the engine, but I took the wheel. And I’m sorry for freaking out on you over Mary-Jane, that’s not your problem either.”

“Dude, I’m like a sounding board” Johnny replied, “Anytime you need to offload some steam or freak out about something, I’ll be hear to get yelled at or whatever. I don’t mind. I know most of the time, you’re yelling through me, not at me.”

Harry nodded, still feeling utterly undeserving of Johnny Storm in his life.

“And the same goes for you” he replied, “Seriously, Johnny, if you ever need to talk through something, you can come to me. Always. You can tell me anything. We’re brothers.”

Johnny smiled sadly and winced a little. Harry felt bad. He knew that Johnny struggled to get close to people after his parents died and he probably felt a bit creeped out by hearing that Harry considered him a brother, but it’s how Harry felt.

“Thanks” Johnny eventually managed to choke out, “You know, I err, do….worry about your opinion of me sometimes….I, err, should-probably-yeah, go and meet my fate. I’ll see you around, soon, hopefully. Bye.”

“Bye” Harry said, somewhat bemused as the usual cool, calm and collected Johnny stumbled over his belongings and practically fell out of the door once he’d gathered them all together. Harry sighed and headed for his much needed shower.

Maybe it would also wash away the embarrassment of crying on Mary-Jane Watsons’s shoulder.

*

Peter was a bundle of nerves and excitement as he got himself dressed and ready for lunch. It had been so long since he’d last been able to see Abbie and whilst he’d finally managed to stop himself from thinking about her every second of the day like he had done when Norman had first taken her, it was still something that he thought about often. How he was missing out on seeing her grow up, how she always seemed to much bigger when he did get to see her, how he was aware that she had no real memory or understanding of who he was to her anymore and how angry it all made him feel. Thinking about his sister being torn from him in the way she was by their own father was pretty much the only thing that Peter got really, really angry about that involved him in some way.

But Peter knew what his father was like and he knew that he couldn’t let his anger towards his father show too much or he might end up seeing Abbie even less than he was already. And that would probably mean never seeing her again. Peter knew that his brothers loved and missed Abbie as well and wanted her back just as much, yet it seemed to Peter as if he felt it a little more deeply than they did. Peter hadn’t really felt fully whole since Abbie had been taken away on the day of their mother’s funeral, it was like a piece of him had left in the car with her. He didn’t know if it was because he’d attached himself to Abbie so much in the days after Mary’s death or something else, but he did know that finding out he was going to see her again in just an hour made him feel more whole and excited than he had done for months. It was probably stupid that he wanted to make sure he looked his best for a two-year old girl but there he was, hurriedly picking one of his best shirts out of his wardrobe and taking extra time to get his hair just right.

Shame about the bruises on his face and his slightly swollen eye. He hoped he wouldn’t scare her.

By the time, the taxi which brought Ben Parker, Norman, and Abbie back from the airport arrived, Peter was practically beside himself. He’d spent the previous hour milling around his bedroom trying to find something to do to take his mind off the time and not count down every second but he was unable to settle. Harley had come in to see if Peter wanted to play a video game with him for a while but even that hadn’t worked and Peter gave up after three rounds, unable to think of anything else but picking his little sister up in his arms and giving her the biggest squeeze of his life. He’d ended up just laying down on his bed and scrolling through the pictures of Abbie and himself he had on his phone. He wondered how different she would be now. Her bright green eyes would always remain the same but he expected her little blonde hair would have more volume to it now, and of course she would be taller, maybe she’d even be able to string a sentence or two together and he figured they’d have to watch her very closely because two-year old’s were always running around and tripping themselves over.

“Peter! They’re back!” May called from downstairs, Peter put his cellphone to one side and jumped the whole distance of his room in one before scaling down the stairs before Harry and Harley had even had a chance to leave their own rooms. He didn’t care if it made him look pathetic or childish to be this excited, Peter just needed to lay his eyes on Abbie for the first time in over six months and hug her.

The first person through the door was a stranger. A nice looking young woman in a yellow cardigan with straight brown hair to whom Harry’s immediate reaction seemed to be instant, soul encompassing love.

“You must be Kim” the teenager said rushing forward clumsily and extending his hand to the young woman who seemed somewhat charmed by him, but then again everyone did, “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Harry. This here’s Peter and Harley.”

“Nice to meet you” Kim said with a smile as she picked up her bags, “The others are just unloading the car. Mr. Osborne asked me to bring a few bags in with me first. Morgan’s being a little difficult.”

“Who’s Mor-?” Harley began to ask but was duly interrupted by Harry asking Kim if she would like him to get her something to drink. Harley frowned. Peter just guessed his father had got another nanny to help with Abbie as well, or a pet maybe?

“Ah, you must be Kim, Norman didn’t mention you were coming” May said warmly as she also extended her hand to Kim, “I’m May Parker, by the way. Nice to meet you.”

“I’ve heard great things” Kim replied as Harry leaped forward again and grabbed her bags for her.

“I’ll put them in the guest bedroom at the end of the hallway” he said somewhat pompously as Kim and May shared and look and rolled their eyes. Peter smiled at Kim as she passed him. It wasn’t that he meant to be impolite or anything and Kim seemed nice enough and she was certainly pretty, but she wasn’t who Peter had been waiting six months to see. He also felt kind of burned that Norman would bring along Abbie’s nanny when there would be plenty of people around, namely Peter, to watch her whilst they were visiting.

Then, a spark of hope flickered in Peter’s brain.

Kim had brought a lot of bags with her, and apparently there were more in the car. Maybe his Dad was coming home. Maybe Kim was moving in to carry on nannying for Abbie whilst they were all going to live together again in Long Island. Dared he hope?

Finally, with Peter practically itching to race out the door, his father appeared with the suitably still adorable and very much bigger and grown Abigail Osborne in his arms. Peter blinked away tears as he lay his eyes on his little sister for the first time in six months just as Harry and Kim appeared back from upstairs.

“All settled in, Mr. Osborne” Kim said proudly, “Your son Harry is very polite and well mannered. Happy to show me the way.”

“I expected nothing less” Norman replied with a seemingly genuine smile, though Harry still seemed to wilt under it, “Nice to see you, Harold. My but you are becoming a handsome boy, your mother would be proud. I trust you had a nice birthday.”

“Yeah, yeah it was fine” Harry said dismissively, Peter caught his own breath in his mouth as an adorable blonde two-year old girl totted into the foyer laughing to herself. Abbie’s face lit up when she saw Norman who chuckled and picked her up as Ben Parker rushed in after her. May’s scowl turned to a soft smile on the sight of her husband.

“Silly monkey, always running away, aren’t you?” Norman teased his daughter as she playfully hit him on the shoulder and laughed.

“Are you OK, Ben?” Harley asked from beside Peter, who was unable to tear his eyes away from his beautiful little sister.

“Err, boys, look-“ Ben began.

“Can I hold her?” Peter interjected loudly, tentatively taking a step forward towards Norman who shared a heavy look with Ben, “P-please Dad, I-I need to, it’s been months-“

Peter swiftly fell back before Norman could reply as Abbie whimpered and cowered at the sight of him as he approached her. He sighed. The bruises on his face had scared her, he knew they would have done, God he was so _stupid_. Stupid and selfish.

“I’m-I’m sorry-“ Peter whispered as he walked back a little and hunched his shoulders up slightly, wanting to be invisible more than he had ever wanted to in his whole life.

“What the hell happened to his face?” Ben asked May, who just shook her head and put a comforting hand on Peter’s shoulder. He shrugged it off, he didn’t deserve that. Abbie was still whimpering in Norman’s arms and looking everywhere but at Peter. Six months waiting to see her again and he’d managed to ruin it in six seconds.

“Morgan, hey, sweetheart it’s OK” Kim said as she strode across the room and made a funny face at Abbie who relaxed on seeing, “Shall I take her for a nap, Mr. Osborne? She’s probably tired.”

“Yes, Kimberley, I think that’s a good idea” Norman said coldly as he handed his daughter off to her nanny and turned to face his sons, all of whom (and May) were looking confused at Kim’s use of the wrong name.

“Wait a damn minute-“

“Why did she call her _Morgan_?”

“Dad, what’s going on?” Peter managed to ask, “Why-why is she calling Abbie the wrong name?”

“Boys, I wanted to talk to you before-“ Ben began but shut and sighed as Norman raised a hand and got him to stop talking.

“I changed her name” Norman said casually, as if it was nothing and he wasn’t swinging a wrecking ball through Peter’s entire life once again, “She felt more like a Morgan to me, and after all, Abigail was the name that was given to her by _her mother_.”

“Well, yeah, that’s kind of how it works asshole” Harry snapped.

“And you didn’t think the boys deserved to be consulted on this?” May asked angrily, “Didn’t think they at least deserved to _know_ before you went ahead and did it?”

“I don’t see it’s any of their concern” Norman shrugged, “She’s still there sister, just now they’ll call her Morgan instead of Abbie. Nothing’s changed.”

Peter winced. It felt like everything had changed. He’d spent the last six months pining – or trying to deny that he was pining – for Abbie, not _Morgan_. He didn’t know Morgan. He didn’t want Morgan. It was Abbie he wanted to hug, Abbie he wanted to play with and call her all the nicknames he used to, it was Abbie he had spent all those mornings with watching the sun come up, it was Abbie who he had put to bed every night and cradled her when she cried, it was Abbie who had got him through the darkest days of his life.

He didn’t know Morgan Osborne. He didn’t want Morgan Osborne.

Before he could find the right words, Peter looked up and saw Harry slowly walking across the room to their father with his fists clenched.

“You fucking _asshole_ ” his older brother shouted before socking one almighty punch on Norman’s face, who fell to the floor, before walking out of the front door. May followed him. Peter hated violence, but he couldn’t deny that their father had deserved that.

*

“Why didn’t you tell us before you got back?” Harley asked quietly about half an hour later as he, Ben and Peter all sat in the living room. Norman had picked himself up immediately after being punched by Harry and taken himself off into his precious study – a study that he had clearly missed more than any of his sons – with Beck to do some business. They hadn’t ended up going out for lunch as planned, though Harley seemed to be the only one who noticed that, not that he was in the mood to eat anyway so he’d kept it to himself.

“I didn’t know how-“

“You never know how” Harley sighed, “It’s like when you knew he was going to take Abbie after Mom’s funeral and you never said, you just let it happen and let us find out like that. And now you’ve done it again.”

“It wasn’t like that, Harls, I promise you” Ben replied. He was running his fingers through Peter’s hair as the boy lay with his head on the man’s lap, having not spoken a word since the scene in the foyer earlier.

“You let us down again” Harley pushed on, he hated speaking to Ben like this but he was so mad at him, “You could have called. You’ve been with Dad for almost a week, you must have known he’d changed Abbie’s name days ago and you didn’t even call. You didn’t even tell May.”

“What do you want me to say, Harls?” Ben asked, “I’m sorry. I hoped it….I dunno, I hoped it wasn’t true. Or that it was some weird nickname. It wasn’t until I saw her passport after we’d already landed that I realized it was an actual, legal thing.”

“Still had time to warn us” Harley grumbled, picking at his jacket sleeve, “You just chose not to cos you’re a coward.”

“I’m not denying it, kiddo” Ben sighed.

Peter murmured something that neither Harley nor Ben managed to hear.

“What was that bud?” Ben asked.

“It’s not your fault” Peter repeated quietly, “How was he meant to warn us, Harley? How would he have found the words?”

“Peter, kiddo-“

“It’s no one’s fault but his” Peter went on, “He wants us to be angry with one another, he probably wants us to hate Ben, it’s all on him. No one else. Just him.”

Harley looked down and his feet and blushed a little. He knew that Peter was right. It wasn’t fair or right of him to blame Ben, maybe he’d just needed someone to blame. Harley was so glad that he had Peter in his life, his big brother wasn’t just the kindest person in the whole world, he was probably the smartest too. Harley wished he was like him so much.

“Sorry, Ben” Harley muttered, “I didn’t mean to be rude-“

“You weren’t rude, Harls” Ben replied softly, “And even if you were, that would have been OK. You guys are allowed to get mad. I’m mad too.”

“Why does he do it, Ben?” Peter asked, “Why is he always determined to hurt us? Why doesn’t he love us, what did we do wrong?”

Harley sighed. He often wondered that himself, and it was depressing to think that there were some questions even Peter couldn’t find the answer too.

Ben didn’t seem to know either. He took a deep breath and carried on running his hand softly through Peter’s hair before using his free arm to pull Harley closer in and hold him. Harley closed his eyes and smiled. He was loved, he knew that much at least.

*

Despite the fact they were on the other side of the house, Peter could still hear Kim and Abbie fuss around as he lay in bed some hours later. May and Harry had returned from wherever they had been in very strange moods, May telling Ben in no uncertain terms that she needed to speak with him immediately, whilst Harry had just shut himself in his room and wouldn’t answer the door to anyone. And Peter had tried. Normally, he would push but there had been something about the way that Harry had looked at them all when he got back that stuck in Peter’s mind and told him that his older brother was probably best left alone for a while. Harley was cozied up next to Peter and sleeping soundly as he always did. Ben and May were still off having their talk and Peter could also hear his father and Quentin Beck talking in the living room.

Abbie sounded distressed, and Kim sounded stressed. It seemed like the little girl was refusing to settle for the night, probably because the mansion was an unfamiliar environment to her now, and Kim seemed terrified of having to go to Peter’s father for help getting her to sleep. Peter guessed that Kim couldn’t have been in the job that long judging by the way Abbie was refusing her, or else she was just really bad at it. Either way, Peter knew that even if she did have a different name now and that still sucked, she was still the same person and he hopefully still had as much of a shot getting her to go to sleep than Kim did.

Careful not to wake Harley, Peter cautiously crept out of bed and down the hallway to where Kim and Abbie (not Morgan, never Morgan) were staying. Quietly, Peter knocked on the door and was soon greeted with the sight of a frazzled looking Kim, blonde hair all over the place and bags under her eyes, who smiled sadly at him before nodding and allowing him into the room. Peter knew there was a risk Abbie could look at him again and get scared as she had done earlier, so he had made sure his face was somewhat obscured by the hood of his hoodie. Luckily, Abbie did not react to him with fear like before and instead sat on the edge of her bed, looking at Peter as if she did recognize him but couldn’t quite place him.

Peter would take that, he guessed.

Smiling softly, he knelt down and offered his hand out to Abbie. She took it.

“Hey little miss” he said quietly, “It’s me, Peter, remember? Your big bro.”

“Pee-cher” Abbie sounded back, with a smile, “Pee-Cha?”

“Close enough” Peter giggled, “It’s way past your bedtime, little girls should be asleep at this time.”

“No sleep, wan’ Daddy” Abbie groaned.

“She can’t go to sleep without a goodnight kiss from her Daddy, can you Morgan?” Kim added from behind Peter, who tried to ignore the punch to the gut that hearing her be called Morgan delivered to him, “But Daddy’s busy tonight, sweetie, he’s going to come up and give you a goodnight kiss soon. I promise.”

Peter sighed. In his whole life, he couldn’t remember getting as much as a warm good night from his father, but he guess he couldn’t be jealous of Abbie for getting what he and his brothers had never. It was good that their Dad was finally putting effort into being a parent and it was clear that from earlier Abbie loved and needed Norman.

“I could give you a goodnight kiss, I suppose” Peter eventually said softly, “And I’ll even tell you a story, how about that?”

Abbie eyed him as if she was slightly suspicious but after a few seconds broke into a smile and nodded, taking Peter’s outstretched hand, and allowing him to walk her to her little bed. Peter lifted Abbie into bed and sat down on his knees in front of her bed and went through the small collection of books that Kim had brought with them. Abbie pointed enthusiastically to The Very Hungry Caterpillar when Peter reached it so he opened the book and read it gently to her until she eventually, finally, fell asleep. Peter gently put the book down and kissed Abbie on the forehead before turning back to Kim.

“Thank you” she said, relief evident in her voice, “Mr. Osborne doesn’t like it when Morgan doesn’t do as she’s told, thank you.”

“You should quit” Peter told her bluntly.

Kim blushed a little before taking a deep breath and adopting more of a confrontational stance.

“Look, kid, you seem sweet” she began, “But tonight was an anomaly, Morgan and me have a great relationship, she just didn’t like her new surroundings. I know you’re Norman’s son and Morgan’s brother but-“

“I wasn’t saying it for her sake, I was saying it for _yours_ ” Peter told her, “Get out whilst you still can. He’s already making you a nervous wreck.”

“I’m fine” Kim insisted.

“I just don’t want your life to be wrecked because of him” Peter murmured, he could hear Norman slowly making his way up the stairs, “It’s not worth it.”

Kim seemed slightly lost for words as Norman suddenly made his way into the room and raised his eyebrows in reaction to see Peter knelt in front of his little sister’s bed.

“Ah, I didn’t think Peter would be able to resist reading Morgan a good night story, I expect he eased your burden tonight, Kimberley. I know Morgan doesn’t rest in unfamiliar environments” he said icily and Peter felt almost as if he could hear Kim’s heartbeat elevate in her chest as she gulped, “Tell me, was he helpful, this boy of mine?”

“Yes, sir, very” Kim managed to reply surprisingly breezily, “Morgan settled down really well with him in the room, not that I wasn’t handling it myself, of course-“

“Of course” Norman replied with a sly smile, “Maybe you should go to bed, Kimberley. You look exhausted and I would like to take off early tomorrow morning.”

Kim nodded and gave Peter a small smile before sidestepping Norman and leaving the room, leaving father and son alone together for the first time since the night before Mary’s funeral two years before.

The air was immediately awkward between them.

Peter coughed.

“I apologize if Morgan’s name change upset you” his father said as he sat down in a chair, “I suppose sometimes I don’t think through the consequences of my actions. I didn’t realize how attached you were to the name Abigail.”

Peter frowned and rolled his eyes. He always knew that his father would never properly apologize for hurting him, he was honestly getting bored of how predictable he found the man to be. He was always going to make out like Peter was the irrational one for being upset over a name and not that he’d torn Abbie further away from him than she ever had been before.

“Why did you do it?” Peter asked, figuring this was his chance to get an honest answer, “You didn’t have to, you never cared what her name was before.”

“I always wanted a girl” Norman replied, “A daughter. And when I got one, I wanted her to be called what I wanted, your mother and I compromised on Abigail at first but now she’s not around, I felt I was well within my rights to-“

“Mom’s _dead_ ” Peter said furiously, “She’s not here to stop you because she’s dead.”

Norman sighed and closed his eyes before taking a deep breath before moving a little closer towards Peter who curled his hand into a fist. He didn’t want his father anywhere near him, and he didn’t really want him anywhere near Abbie either.

“Perhaps I’ve been going about this all wrong” Norman said quietly, “Peter, don’t think me so ignorant as to not recognize the fact that you miss your sister. I know you were very attached to her after your mother was killed. I know that being away from her hurts you-“

“Then why do it?” Peter snapped, “Why keep her from me? From us? It’s cruel, Dad. She should know who we are. We’re her brothers but she didn’t even recognize us today.”

Norman nodded.

“Of all my sons, you are the one I have the highest hopes for” he carried on, “Ben has been full of the joys about you whilst he’s been in Washington with us. Your grades. Your behaviour. How much help you are around the house, the kindness with which you treat others. Those are all admirable qualities.”

 _Yeah, and I got none of them from you_ hung on the edge of Peter’s tongue.

“Why are you saying this?” he asked, eyeing his father with suspicion, “I’m no better than Harry or Harley.”

“What? The violent thug and the boy who’s wasting himself away” Norman scoffed. Peter frowned, anger boiling inside of me.

“Whatever you’re wanting from me” he said slowly and tensely, voice lower and angrier than even he could have expected and it seemed to register with Norman who looked shocked for a split second before collecting himself and smiling once again, “You’re not going to get it by talking about them like that”

Norman sighed.

“I apologize” he replied, “Peter, what I am trying to say here is that you are an asset and seeing how brilliant you actually are with Morgan….I’m offering you the chance to come and live with us in Washington…”

Peter blinked, whatever breath he had left in his body ebbing out as he stared at his father, desperately trying to look for signs of betrayal or lies but the man seemed genuine. Peter frowned; he was confused. Why now? Why after two years of separating them would his father suddenly decide he wanted Peter to come and live with them? Was it just so he could have a live-in babysitter and save money on a nanny? Not that Peter would mind seeing Morgan every day and loving her and looking after her but it sure as hell didn’t mean Norman wanted Peter for Peter.

“I don’t-“ he began

“There are some brilliant schools in DC” Norman carried on, “Much better than here in New York, you could really meet your full potential there.”

“And what about Harley and Harry?” Peter asked, “Are they coming as well?”

“No” Norman said bluntly.

“Then no deal” Peter replied just as bluntly, taking one last look at Abbie before getting up and brushing past Norman who grabbed his arm, “Get off me!”

“Peter, I shan’t be making this offer again” Norman snarled, “I know how much you long to be with Morgan again, I know that you’ve been struggling since we left and I know that Morgan will be much better off if you’re there to look after her.”

“I got through two years, I can manage a few more” Peter shot back.

“Can you? Because my trips back to New York are going to become even less frequent than they are already” Norman snapped, “Thaddeus Ross has approached me as a possible running mate for the election next year. I’ll be tied to Washington even more so than I am already, not nearly enough time to come back here and see you, and much less to have you come and visit us-“

“So…you’re saying that I’ve got to choose?” Peter shot back, “You’re saying that I have to choose between never seeing my sister or never seeing my brothers? Have you any idea what you’re asking? How can I make that choice?”

“Just be grateful you have one, my boy” Norman snarled, “I could very easily make it so you never, ever see Morgan again at all.”

Peter looked at his little sister, so small and vulnerable, so at the mercy of Norman’s unhinged behaviour. Sure, Peter’s father was fond of her now whilst she was still a toddler who was like putty in his hands because he was all she knew, but what would become of her when she got older and had to rely on an emotionally dead father for comfort and support? Could Peter really leave her, the most precious little girl on the planet, so open and vulnerable to his father’s whims?

But he couldn’t leave his brothers either. They’d never cope without him, and Peter wasn’t even sure he’d know how to breathe without seeing Harry and Harley every day of his life.

“Can I think about it?” he asked.

“Yes, I suppose” Norman sighed impatiently, “You have until we leave tomorrow morning. If you want to come with us and see your sister, be in the foyer with your bags packed at 11. If not, well, then you’ve made your choice.”

Hatred of his father bubbling up like never before, Peter nodded tensely before kissing Abbie’s forehead and leaving her bedroom without another look at Norman. Quietly, he headed back to his own and climbed back into bed next to the sleeping Harley, who seemed to sense his presence and turned to find comfort in his big brother.

Peter sighed and ran his hand through his little brother’s hair as the boy murmured some affirmation about having Peter with him.

“Love you, Peter” the half-asleep boy yawned, grabbing Peter’s hand

“Love you too, Harls” Peter sighed. His options weighed in his mind. He had a choice to make, and in the end, he was going to end up being hurt. One way or another.

*

Ben Parker had always been an early riser, ever since he was a kid, he’d never been able to stay in bed past around seven am. As he stood in the kitchen of the Osborne’s manor, he was aware of how false everything surrounding him was. This wasn’t his house, nor was the pent house he spent most of the time living in with May and the boys for most of the year, and it wasn’t that Ben didn’t live and breathe for the welfare of the three boys he’d been entrusted to care for but sometimes, on days like today, it was hard for him to resent where his life had ended up. Somehow, no matter how hard he tried, he always ended up being the bad guy.

The way Harley and Peter had looked at him the previous day was going to stick with him for a long, long time. Not to mention the conversation he’d had to have with May when she and Harry returned home later the same day, though thankfully May had understood. God bless her. She always understood. Ben did his best to smile at Harley as the youngest boy entered the kitchen and sat himself down at the breakfast table, but he was already feeling exhausted and he knew that getting the boy to eat this morning was probably going to be very difficult after yesterday’s upset.

“Ben” Harley asked almost timidly from his seat, “C-could you m-make me a waffle or two, please? I’m kinda hungry.”

Ben blinked in surprise before taking a good look at Harley, who was shifting in his seat uncomfortably and tugging his sleeves over his hands and looking like the picture of anxiety and knew exactly what was going on here. Harley had called him out for keeping Morgan’s name change a secret and this was his way of trying to make things up to him. Even though as far as Ben was concerned, the boy had nothing to feel bad about, much less apologize for. Ben still prayed that one day Harley would be able to have a relationship with food that wasn’t based solely on his emotions, but he would certainly take Harley asking for food as a win, no matter the circumstance.

“Of course you can bud!” Ben said happily as he pulled out the waffle iron and got together some ingredients, “You sleep good?”

“OK” Harley answered, “I bunked in with Peter but he was kicking and stuff all night, like he always does when he’s got stuff on his mind.”

“Well, let’s let him catch up on sleep this morning then” Ben replied as May made her way into the living room in her dressing gown, stopping by Harley to press a kiss on to his temple before making her way over to Ben and giving him a brief kiss on the lips before starting to make herself a cup of coffee, “Maybe you could get a few more hours in this afternoon? I don’t we have anything planned today, do we May?”

“Not a thing” May replied breezily, “Well, once, you-know-who’s gone.”

Ben could sense the tension in his wife’s shoulders and was about to place a comforting hand on them when the waffles sizzled, prompting their completion. The married couple were further distracted, and surprised, when Harry walked into the kitchen and sat himself down opposite Harley and affectionately hooked his ankle around his little brother’s under the table. Ben smiled as Harley giggled and seemed to relax a little more.

As soon as his gaze drifted back to May, the familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach changed. What Harry had told her yesterday was bound to affect things even if Ben knew his wife would to the ends of the earth to protect the boy. Harry sheepishly looked up at May and gave her a shaky smile, which prompted her to sigh and give Harry the signal to come over. To Ben’s surprise he did and May embraced him.

“You’re not….ashamed of me, are you?” he heard the teenager ask shakily as May patted his hair and rubbed circles on his back.

“Not for a second, baby” May replied tearfully before releasing Harry and allowing him to sit back down at the table. Ben reached for hand and squeezed it as she passed him. Harley dug into his waffles enthusiastically enough and Harry asked for some of his own. May was in the middle of serving him when a sheepish and very tired looking Peter appeared in the doorway, trepidation in his every step as he wrung his hands together and seemed on the precipice of a panic attack.

Ben felt angry. Not with Peter, but with the world. Why could the world not give these precious boys a break from some form of heartache for more than a day? The sun didn’t seem to shine when Peter wasn’t happy and all eyes in the room darted to him as he continued to stand, seemingly determined to say something but evidently not sure how. Ben moved towards him and steered him wordlessly to the breakfast table where everyone gathered around.

“What’s wrong, baby?” May asked him as she moved some of his unruly curly hair off of his forehead so she could get a better look at him, “You look so scared.”

“I, I err-hav-have to make a ch-choice” Peter stuttered, “And I have to m-make it quickly but it’s gonna upset people. Like really upset them. I’m sorry.”

“Choice? What choice do you mean, baby?” May asked kindly again as Peter leaned into her touch before taking a deep breath and looking directly at his brothers.

“Dad wants me to g-go and l-live in Washington with him and Abbie” Peter managed to struggle out, his eyes moving sharply to his feet the second he said it. Ben didn’t blame him. Peter knew what was coming and the expressions on Harley and Harry’s faces had changed from ones of concern for their brother to ones of fear and heartbreak upon hearing his words. Tears immediately filled Harley’s chestnut eyes whilst Harry’s green ones seemed to veer off somewhere, probably lost in his own mind and anger. Ben wished more than anything he could get inside Harry’s head.

There was silence. It was probably only seconds but it felt like hours. Days, even.

“When did he ask you this?” May asked.

“Last night” Peter muttered, “I helped put Morg-I mean, Abbie, to bed and he said that I should come and live with him in Washington and help look after her. He said he can tell how much I miss her and I do May, but I-“

“When are you going?” Harry interjected. Peter’s focus shifted from his feet and focused back in on Harry, who had evidently settled on anger as his reaction. Ben sighed. It was like running in slow motion to a car crash he couldn’t stop.

“What? I-“

“You leaving with him today?” Harry barked, “Hope you’re packed.”

“Harry-“ May said crossly as Harley’s eyes darted in a panic between everywhere in the room. Ben quickly made his way over to the younger boy and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“What?” Harry snapped, “Look at him, he clearly wants to go, I’m just saying that I hope he’s all packed before he does go. Cos I bet Dad’s not gonna be in a rush to come back here after I punched him yesterday-“

“I haven’t decided anything” Peter said quietly.

“The fact you even think there’s a decision to be made says it all, Pete” Harry shot back and Ben could tell the teenager was completely lost in his own anger. He wanted to say something but he knew that nothing he could say would make a difference to Harry at this moment in time. “I know how much you miss her and I know you want to be with her, so go. But don’t expect me to stand and watch as you drive off with _him_.”

“Harry, you are being totally out of line!” May said angrily, “Peter hasn’t said that he’s going with your Dad-“

“Are you, Peter?” Harley asked timidly, he was shaking, poor thing, “Please don’t leave us. You can’t leave us.”

“Harley, I-“

“Just let him go, Harls” Harry snapped, “He’s made his mind up. It’s clear. If he was going to stay, he wouldn’t have even brought it up. Just let him go”

Peter looked heartbroken at his brothers rejection of him and Ben felt a pressing need to explain to Peter that Harry didn’t mean any of this. He was just pushing Peter away before Peter could leave him, like so many other people had left him.

But before Ben could get a word in edgewise, Peter had fled the room and Harry had returned to his breakfast as if nothing had happened. Ben shot the teenager an angry look before going after Peter.

“You know better than that” he heard May say in the eerily calm angry voice of hers as he left the room.

*

Peter was sat on the same porch swing he’d always held Abbie in every morning in those bleak days after Mary’s death when Ben found him. Looking out on to that beautiful view that surrounded Osborne manor. He was crying, that much was clear, and Ben sighed as he slowly moved towards the boy and turned the swing around so Peter was facing him.

“I’m sorry” Peter said sadly, not even able to bring himself to look up at Ben. So, Ben did what any decent person would do and knelt down so he was at Peter’s eye-level. He affectionately put his hand under the boy’s chin and lifted his head up so he could take a real look at his face, and when he was met with it, he couldn’t help but smile. Peter was gorgeous. His eyes, even as sad as they were in that moment, were always just a picture. The bruises and cuts that filled his face from the incident on the subway two days before now looked more like battle wounds that showed evidence of heroism than they did the results of a young boy being too headstrong and noble for his own good.

“You have nothing to be sorry for” Ben replied affectionately, “Your Dad has put you in an impossible situation and Harry’s just angry with him, not you.”

“Seems like he’s mad at me” Peter sighed, he sounded utterly heartbroken, Ben knew how much fighting affected him and Harry. “I don’t know what to do Ben, tell me what to do.”

Ben knew what he wanted. He wanted Peter to stay. For Peter’s sake, because the boy was much better off with him, May, and his brothers than he ever would be in Washington. Peter didn’t like to show it but the trauma of the last two years had really taken it’s toll on him and he needed a lot of affection just to make it through an average day. Hugs in the morning before he went to school, texts throughout the day to make sure he was alright, and warm welcomes and a peaceful stress-free atmosphere when he got back. They maybe didn’t manage that every day but Ben knew he and May had done an excellent job with all the boys in the last two years, but Peter’s new habit of taking on the world’s problems as his own and not caring if he suffered for them was a big issue. Selfishly, Ben also wanted Peter to stay for him. He’d miss the kid too much. He’d miss his toothy grins and dorky jokes and his endless, unwavering kindness that he displayed to pretty much everyone he came across. Ben’s life would be a lot darker without Peter being a ray of light in it. He didn’t want to lose that. He didn’t want to lose Peter. Who would?

But ever since Steven Westcott had robbed Peter of his childhood, of his innocence, Ben knew that letting Peter make his own choices was a key factor in helping him heal. Westcott had robbed Peter of his own agency and Ben and May had spent the last two years trying to build up Peter’s sense of it again, letting him make his own mind-up wherever he could. Would it not be hypocritical of Ben to now stand in the way of something Peter really wanted and had made up his own mind about? That was the only way Ben could ever see himself allowing Peter to be swallowed back up into Norman Osborne’s world.

“Talk me through how you’re feeling, bud” Ben sighed.

“I kinda want to go” Peter confessed tearfully, “I need Abbie, Ben. I need her. I’ll even call her Morgan if that’s what I need to do but….but every time I see her again, saying goodbye after a few days just gets harder and harder and then we go longer and longer without seeing her and she didn’t even remember who I w-was this t-time. It’s like…it’s like a part of m-me is w-with her in Washington al-already c-cos I n-never r-really feel like my-myself when I’m here without her. I know that’s stupid but-“

“It is _not_ stupid” Ben insisted, the last thing he wanted was for Peter to start feeling as if his emotions were invalid on top of everything else, “It’s how you feel, bud. That’s OK. You’re not doing anything wrong by telling me how you feel.”

“But it makes me so _bad_ ” Peter whined, “Cos I want to be happy for you and May and Harry and Harley so bad, Ben. I try every day to smile and make other people feel good but I never feel good and it’s cos I miss her so much that I-I….it’s like I’m al-always holding my br-breath just waiting to see h-her again…”

He trailed off, but Ben understood. He’d bonded with Abbie. She may have only been a few months old when Norman had first taken her away but in that time a part of Peter’s soul had merged with hers and bonded with it. Her presence had got him through the hardest time of his life and now that she’d been torn away from him, that little part of his soul had gone with her and so Peter never really felt whole.

Ben understood. He could never say it, not now, but he had that same empty feeling every time he thought about the fact he would never see Richard again. They’d had the same bond when they were kids. Alone. Just one another to get them through on the harsh streets of Queens in the early 80s. No matter what happened, that bond was there and being without Richard was like being without an arm.

“And what about leaving here?” Ben asked softly as he took Peter’s hands in his own and squeezed them, “How would you feel about leaving here? Leaving your brothers.”

“I don’t know” Peter whispered, “It’s scary, I’ve never not been with them.”

Ben nodded as, if on cue, Harley suddenly appeared behind him and sat his little self-down next to Peter on the swing and rested his head on his big brothers shoulder. Ben let go of Peter’s hands and let Harley take over instead.

“If you’re going, can we spend some time together first?” Harley asked. Peter blinked tears away as he turned to face his sad but apparently accepting little brother.

“Harley, I’m-“

“I’ll just really miss you is all” Harley shrugged, “Maybe I could even help you finish packing; you hadn’t really even started this morning-“

“You-do you-you want me to go?” Peter asked, confused. Harley bolted up.

“I want what makes you feel happy” the younger boy said simply, “Cos you’re like the most awesome person ever and you deserve to be happy but-but I don’t think that going to Washington with Dad will make you happy”

“Why not?” Peter asked. Ben smiled sadly at Harley. Wise kid. They underestimated him.

“Because Dad and Beck would be the only people you know” Harley explained, “And I know Abbie’s there too and I know you love her but she’s still a baby. She can’t make you feel safe like Ben and May make you feel safe. I just don’t think you’d be happy.”

“I can’t not see Abbie” Peter whimpered.

“I know” Harley said sadly, “I miss her too, but you gotta do what makes you happy Peter, and if you think going to Washington will make you happy then…..then I won’t be m-mad. I’ll m-miss you but I won’t be mad because I want you to be happy and I love you.”

Ben smiled as Harley wrapped his arms around Peter’s abdomen and the two boys just silently hugged one another on the swing. Ben could practically see Peter’s brilliant brain twisting itself in a million different directions trying to compute what the best way to keep everyone happy was, and Ben wanted to yell at it. He wanted to climb into Peter’s mind and instruct it to make the choice that was best for him. The one that would make him happiest.

*

Bags were packed and Norman Osborne was waiting impatiently in the foyer of the manor he still technically owned, but never spent any time at. Next to him stood Quentin Beck, as always impatient to be on the move and incessantly checking his watch to make sure they set off in good time to make their flight. Kimberley and Morgan made their way down the stairs hand in hand, Kimberley holding Morgan’s smaller travel-on suitcase as well as her own. Norman smiled at his daughter as she let go of Kimberley’s hand and raced towards him. He placed her in his arms and awaited the rest of his family.

Harry was already sat on the bottom steps, looking bitter. Norman was careful not to let his contempt for the boy show. How _dare_ he be so bold as to punch him in the face in front of his children and in front of his _staff_ , humiliating and making him look like a fool. No, the boy would have to pay a hefty price for that one and Norman felt a quiet sense of satisfaction in knowing that he had torn away from Harry the one person he needed most – Peter. Did Norman want the boy in Washington? Of course not. He found Peter as contemptible and disappointing as his other two sons. A burden, an utter burden. Just like his mother. So desperate and needy for positive affirmation that he would let himself be manipulated and flattered into making any decision so long as the words were right.

The only upside to getting Peter back would be that they would hopefully one day get around to completing their experimentations one day. Not that Ross would need to know anything about those should they ever manage it.

May Parker stood across the foyer, arms folded, looking deeply unimpressed as she seemingly always did. Oh yes, she’d given him her lecture. How he had only come back to make the boys lives miserable all over again and to try and manipulate them all against one another before leaving behind another mess for her to clear-up. As if he already wasn’t paying her and her neanderthal husband handsomely for the apparent burden. Still, he supposed, it was better than having the little brats running around in D.C. and distracting him from his prospects.

It was approaching 11am when Ben Parker appeared in the hallway with both of Norman’s younger sons trailing behind him. Norman feigned a smile and stepped forward to greet Peter.

“Best go and fetch your bags, young man” he said proudly, “We need to get moving soon or we’re going to miss our flight.”

Peter stood routed to the spot, he looked back at Parker who gave him an encouraging nod.

“I’m sorry, I’m not coming” the boy said timidly, his small shoulders shaking, “I can’t leave Harley and Harry behind. I know life without Abbie, I can get through it, I’m not sure if I can get through life without them.”

Before Norman could react, Peter made his way over to his little sister and knelt down towards her. He smiled and gently ran a finger down her cheek as she glazed up at him with adoring eyes and laughed.

“Pee-Cha!” she said affectionately.

“That’s right, sunshine” Peter replied taking a deep breath, “Remember me, baby, please remember me. I love you so, so much. Pee-Cha loves you to the moon and back, remember that OK, please remember that…”

Unable to look at his precious sister any longer, Peter turned away and closed his eyes as he heard Kimberley pick his little sister up and take her out to the car. He was more determined not to let his father see him cry than he ever had been over anything in his life. Once Beck had gone, Peter summoned the strength to turn around and face his father. The man had never been a fan of defiance or not getting what he wanted.

“You just made a big mistake, kid” Norman snarled before picking up his bag and walking out of the manor. The second he was gone a near feral like cry of grief came out of Peter’s mouth and he slumped to the floor in floods of tears as Ben, Harley and May all gathered around him and enveloped him in a hug.

“Oh, Peter, oh baby” May cried as she hugged him tight. Over her shoulder, Peter made eye-contact with Harry who had stayed frozen and routed to his spot on the stairs throughout the entire sorry scene.

“Harry-“ Peter said quietly but his older brother gave no acknowledgement or reaction to his words and seemed to be looking directly through him. There was so much that Peter wanted to say to his big brother. _It’s Ok, it’s OK, I’m staying. I won’t leave you. You’re not alone, I won’t leave you. It’s still us against the world, Har. It’s still us. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for making you think that I was going to leave._

_I’ll never leave you. As long as I’m breathing, I’ll never leave you._

But he couldn’t say anything. It was raw. It was all too damn raw. But they had time, he and Harry, they would always have time. 

Without a word, Harry Osborne picked himself off the stairs and ascended them without so much as looking back on his beloved brother’s heartbroken expression. But Peter knew he had done the right thing, staying. He couldn’t have left Harry. He couldn’t have left Harley. They were brothers, they stuck together, or what was the point in going on?

Peter could only hope Harry would be able to forgive him in time.

Harry could only hope that Peter would never find out about the lengths he’d gone to protect him, how deep his love for his brother was, because now he knew that one day, somehow, Peter was going to leave him.

And that was fine. Maybe Harry was always meant to be on his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and the first crack is there. lots of stuff to come.
> 
> not sure when the next update will be, certainly before xmas (and i do have a special xmas chapter planned too!) but it will focus on harry and what was going on with him in this chapter.
> 
> also johnny is bae, right? idk how but he's become my favourite character to write for in this series?!
> 
> anyway,  
> please leave a comment with your thoughts below,  
> celebrate the fascist cheeto getting his ass beat and fired,  
> stay safe,  
> much love,  
> jamie  
> xxxx

**Author's Note:**

> So I know not like *a lot* happened in this chapter, but there's a lot more coming in Part 2 which I'm hoping to have up this weekend.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and please leave a comment with all your thoughts below,  
> Much love,  
> Stay safe,  
> Jamie  
> xxxx


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